I find the mini more advanced since it shares recording list from roamio

Although you'll have a monthly charge for the Premiere cable card roughly equivalent to the monthly service charge for the Mini, you'll have two additional tuners (perhaps not so important), some additional recording capacity (perhaps not so important), plus a functioning TV should the Roamio go down for some reason (a bit more important)... I also like the Mini and will soon have three in use with my Roamio Pro....I'm giving my lifetime HD to a relative...and I'm keeping my two tuner Premiere as a spare in case something happens to the Roamio... In your case, I'd take the Premiere to have a backup around.... But it's all a matter of personal choice....

I find the mini more advanced since it shares recording list from roamio

Yeah, what Bostlaw said, and due to the value of the Premiere over the mini. It would be $450+ to get a premiere with lifetime and the resale value is about $300. The mini is only $250 new with lifetime. I do like the mini and have 2 myself, but if someone gave me that choice I'd probably do as I recommended.

because it's old? I think I will be selling my Lifetime Premiere I got $99 lifetime on. I was going to keep it around for a spare for my GFs S3 boxes, but if I can get $300 for the Premiere I might as well sell it to someone who wants a two tuner DVR that can do OTA and cable at the same time.

If I were starting from scratch, using a Mini in rooms that aren't used much is the perfect solution. The reason is, you don't have to pay for a cablecard monthly fee and you don't have to deal with having multiple cablecard/tuning adapter setups. Having a single DVR makes it easy to manage recordings and the Mini would not take up a tuner unless it is being used actively. If you are putting a Premiere in a room that isn't used much, then it is just a glorified cable box. Are you really going to go through the trouble of setting up and managing recordings on a TiVo you rarely use?

I find the mini more advanced since it shares recording list from roamio

It is not as clear cut to me either. Yes, the refurbished premiere + lifetime might go for $250-$300 on eBay or Craigslist where-as a new Mini + Lifetime is only about $225-$250.

But, as you point out with the Mini you get these benefits;

Faster CPU and better apps experience than the Premiere
Integrated recording and live TV from main TiVo
Much lower power consumption
No cable card rental (and this is a BIG one. After 3 years this could add another $150-$300 to your total cost of ownership).

I personally would get the Mini + Lifetime without skipping a beat. Much more useful for me than a 2nd TiVo that I will never watch recordings on, and that I will have to use in a clunkier fashion to transfer/stream recordings from the Roamio that IS doing all of the recording.

I personally would get the Mini + Lifetime without skipping a beat. Much more useful for me than a 2nd TiVo that I will never watch recordings on, and that I will have to use in a clunkier fashion to transfer/stream recordings from the Roamio that IS doing all of the recording.

I think the only reason to get another TiVo Roamio/Premiere instead of a Mini is if you use that particular TV a lot or you want separate recordings. If you have a small household and 6 tuners is more than you will ever need, then Minis in extra rooms make more sense.

I think the only reason to get another TiVo Roamio/Premiere instead of a Mini is if you use that particular TV a lot or you want separate recordings. If you have a small household and 6 tuners is more than you will ever need, then Minis in extra rooms make more sense.

Most people can survive without TV for a few days... I know I can. Not to mention that there's nothing to stop you from going to your local Best Buy and getting a new one, or having Amazon overnight you one, or........

The mini makes far more sense financially if you already have a Roamio. Arguing someone needs a "backup" is like arguing that a backup smart phone is needed in case yours fails or breaks... how many people have backup smart phones ready to go? Most people rely on their phones more than their TiVo.

Most people can survive without TV for a few days... I know I can. Not to mention that there's nothing to stop you from going to your local Best Buy and getting a new one, or having Amazon overnight you one, or........

The mini makes far more sense financially if you already have a Roamio. Arguing someone needs a "backup" is like arguing that a backup smart phone is needed in case yours fails or breaks... how many people have backup smart phones ready to go? Most people rely on their phones more than their TiVo.

I'm not sure how the Mini "makes far more sense financially" in such circumstances. The premise was that the Premiere was free...I wouldn't suggest going out to buy a Premiere over a Mini...At a price of $0, it's got advantages. Hell, with the money you save, you could buy a backup cell phone...

Wrong, it does. I don't want to get too into the comparison, since I haven't actually used the Mini, but the 2-tuner Premiere supports the same kind of streaming.

True but you don't get the integrated My Shows and Season Pass management with the Premiere from the main Roamio. So it is not really a "client". And Netflix and the other apps run terrible on the Premiere. This is why I would rather use a Mini unless you need the extra tuners on the Plus/Pro.

So there are 3 of you in the house (1 a toddler though). You have a Roamio and 2 minis. Why would you want/need another box? Couldn't you put a mini in the guest room when guests come over? I'm just thinking maybe you could get your lifetime transferred to one (or maybe even both of the mini's you currently have). I guess if that doesn't work I'm of the mindset "free is for me." so I'd go with the premiere since it's in the guest room and probably won't be used as much as others, unless you have guest 3 weeks or more out of the month.

I'm not sure how the Mini "makes far more sense financially" in such circumstances. The premise was that the Premiere was free...I wouldn't suggest going out to buy a Premiere over a Mini...At a price of $0, it's got advantages. Hell, with the money you save, you could buy a backup cell phone...

The premiere requires a cable card rental, the mini does not, that's why if things are equal the mini makes more sense financially. From a functionality standpoint the mini is much faster and and the app experience is much better.

Sounds you want a Mini, and have little use of a Premiere box. Your current setup is the Roamio + Minis. Main benefit pf the Premiere is to have a free? lifetimed Premiere box, but you don't mention you want or need that..
You do mention costs, so I'd suggest, like others, get the lifetimed Premiere and sell it and buy a Mini.

The premiere requires a cable card rental, the mini does not, that's why if things are equal the mini makes more sense financially. From a functionality standpoint the mini is much faster and and the app experience is much better.

The cost of the cable card is roughly the equivalent of the monthly Mini service... thus, I don't see the financial advantage to the Mini... The Mini is faster than the Premiere...(except for channel changing while watching "live" TV)... The app experience is better on the newer machines...Streaming between the Roamio and the Premiere isn't any slower than between the Roamio and the Mini...at least not on my machines... In any event, I hate contrarians...and I seem to be taking that role...So, I leave my thoughts as just that...thoughts to consider... Happy TiVoing...

Its for a guest room, right? I'm thinking most guests would not know it is slow and would appreciate a bunch of shows ready for them to watch without having to be concerned about the rest of the house. In addition, it appeared the OP was looking for a cheap and effortless box to use. All of these other options are great, no doubt, I'm just making sure the OP understands that the premiere could be truly without cost and would not need ANY additional fees (like a cablecard) or effort (buying/selling boxes to recover the value).